DOCSLIB.ORG

Funding Higher Education in Uganda: Modalities, Challenges and Opportunities in the Twenty-First Century

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Funding Higher Education in Uganda: Modalities, Challenges and Opportunities in the Twenty-First Century Makerere Journal of Higher Education ISSN: 1816-6822; 4(1) (2012) 11 – 44 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/majohe.v4i1.6 © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints & permission: EASHESD East African School of http://ajol.info/majohe Higher Education Studies & Development Funding Higher Education in Uganda: Modalities, Challenges and Opportunities in the twenty-first Century Julius Omona 1 1 Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Makerere University [E-mail: [email protected] ] Abstract. This century is faced with many challenges which require investment in higher education to provide a sense of direction. This research was undertaken to specifically identify the funding modalities, effectiveness, challenges and opportunities in Uganda. The research employed the qualitative approaches. The two commonest funding models are the public model and the market model. The challenges to funding higher education in Uganda include the increasing demand for primary and secondary education, among others. The major conclusion was that there has been a general decline in the funding of higher education over the last two decades. There has indeed been a widening gap between actual funding and ideal funding, with a serious impact on educational outcomes. However, it has been noted that Uganda has a lot of opportunities in this century to improve funding of its higher education. It is recommended that, among other initiatives, Uganda should encourage private funding of higher education. Keywords: Higher education funding, Reform, Quality assurance 1 Introduction In this 21 st century investment in higher education is one of the ways to offer a positive trend for humanity. In all countries, the education industry is one of the largest. Unlike most other industries, it is one where governments of all ideologies intervene pervasively (Appleton, 2001a). In industrialised countries, it is promoted partly for its perceived benefits in creating and utilising new technology – the engine of economic growth. In developing countries, it is generally seen as both economically productive and also as a dimension of development in itself. Appleton (2001a) reports that, despite its growing importance in economic debates, the post-World War II consensus that education is best funded and provided by the state has been increasingly challenged. In African nations in general, there is a general realisation that all is Omona: Funding Higher Education in Uganda not well with the higher education system. Adjustment is the battle cry everywhere (Obanyan, 1999). There is no doubt that education, including the higher education sub-sector, has to be adjusted along with the economy. What is open to debate is what forms such a process of adjustment should take (Obanyan, 1999). This study acknowledges that no meaningful adjustment can take place without talking about funding. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the funding of higher education in Uganda – its modalities, opportunities and prospects for this century. The higher education system in Uganda comprises universities, national teachers’ colleges, colleges of commerce and technology, and other schools and colleges, both private and public (Obwona & Ssewanyana, 2007). The duration of undergraduate courses ranges from two to five years. Individuals are admitted into these institutions after the completion of their secondary education or its equivalent. National and higher education sector-specific reforms implemented over the last three decades have had both positive and negative effects on the overall higher education sector (Obwona & Ssewanyana, 2007). First, the liberalisation reforms have encouraged the participation of the private sector. This explains the rapid expansion of higher education institutions since the 1990s. The number of universities has increased from three in 1997 to 24 in 2012, of which only 5 are public. 1 Second, government has shifted focus to primary education since 1997, when Universal Primary Education (UPE) was introduced, so government spending on higher education has reduced. In the early 1990s, less than 40 per cent of the education budget was allocated to basic/primary education; by 2002/3, more than 60 per cent of the budget went to this sub-sector. This suggests a declining trend of funding towards higher education (Figure 1). 1 The five public universities in Uganda are: Gulu University, Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Busitema University and Kyambogo University. 12 Makerere Journal of Higher Education Figure 1: Hypothetical funding gap in Uganda’s higher education (2000 to 2010) Figure 1 shows that the gap between the ideal and the actual funding situations appears to be increasing with every successive year. This study is thus undertaken to: a) establish the modalities of funding higher education; b) assess how effective these models have been; c) examine the challenges of funding higher education; and d) examine the opportunities for funding higher education. It is hoped that by focusing on these objectives, the study will help stakeholders to re-evaluate their commitment in respect of higher education. 2 Methodology The study adopted a non-experimental, descriptive and exploratory design. It is descriptive as it describes situations and events in respect of higher education in Uganda. It is also explanatory in that it attempts to explain why certain actions/decisions are taken in this sector by the relevant authorities. This study used qualitative approaches of data collection and analysis. Data were obtained from relevant books and periodicals, government publications, statistical abstracts, the media and reports. The key search terms used were “higher education, Uganda”. The search resulted in 89 appropriate citations, and out of these the 25 most relevant were extensively reviewed. The search results were limited to English only. The reference list of the benchmark literature was searched for other potential sources. The data sources were mainly from the Makerere University library hyperlink (http://www.mulib.mak.ac.ug) and included AGORA, Project MUSE, Ebsco, Jstor, Google Scholar, Proquest and PsychInfo. The data collected were analysed using content analysis, which was conducted by the researcher using a manual decision support system. While using the system, the researcher highlighted each theme as it occurred in the raw data. Each highlighted segment theme was given a theme code and the theme code name was written in a data index, so that a record of the list of themes was kept. Thereafter, the highlighted segments were collated into separate files, so that each of them had a collection of quotes. The validity and reliability of the data are enhanced by the fact that most of the citations reviewed were from credible sources such as the World Bank (2010), UNESCO (2011), including recent reports on Uganda’s higher education such as the National Development Plan (NDP) (2010), and the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) (2009). Empirical data from sources such as Obwona and Ssewanyana (2007) and Bloom, Cunning and Chan (2006) as well as prominent educationalists such as Ssempebwa (2007) and credible national newspapers, have all been useful. 13 Omona: Funding Higher Education in Uganda 3 Theoretical Perspectives on Funding Higher Education There are two common models of funding higher education, at least in the context of African higher institutions – the public and the market-based models. All other forms lie along the continuum. In the public model, the funds come from the central government. This model allows the allocation of government funds to individual institutions in accordance with both the budget made available by government and with government’s policy priorities (Pundy, 2003). Higher educational institutions can receive the following: a) block funds, which are undesignated amounts made available to each institution and consist of research, teaching and institutional factor funds (Pundy, 2003) and b) earmarked funds, which are designated for specific purposes. The components of these vary from country to country. For example, in Tanzania the government does not only finance public higher education institutions through subventions to cover recurrent and capital development budgets. It also finances tuition-dependent private higher education institutions through providing interest-free loans to cover tuition fee and related costs to students enrolled in private universities and those enrolled in privately sponsored programmes in public universities through the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) and the Tanzania Education Authority (Ishengoma, 2008). The other challenge to this model in most African economies is the consistent deficit pattern between government revenue and expenditure due to donor dependence, leading educational institutions to consistently receive less funding than they request from government for both recurrent expenditure and capital development (Ishengoma, 2008). The second, and increasingly popular, model is the liberalised or market model of funding of higher education (Lamptey, 1994). The market model advocated by Oketch (2003) and Lamptey (1994) stresses the injection of the market principles and market-driven approaches into the financing of higher education to make it completely self-financing. While Oketch views the market model of financing higher education in terms of financial diversification and partial privatisation of public universities, Lamptey advocates the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The History of Resource Mobilization and Social Spending in Uganda
    Working Paper 2014–6 The History of Resource Mobilization and Social Spending in Uganda Marianne S. Ulriksen and Mesharch W. Katusiimeh prepared for the UNRISD project on Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization March 2014 UNRISD Working Papers are posted online to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous research institute within the UN system that undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary development issues. Through our work we aim to ensure that social equity, inclusion and justice are central to development thinking, policy and practice. UNRISD, Palais des Nations 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel: +41 (0)22 9173020 Fax: +41 (0)22 9170650 [email protected] www.unrisd.org Copyright © United Nations Research Institute for Social Development This is not a formal UNRISD publication. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed studies rests solely with their author(s), and availability on the UNRISD Web site (www.unrisd.org) does not constitute an endorsement by UNRISD of the opinions expressed in them. No publication or distribution of these papers is permitted without the prior authorization of the author(s), except for personal use. Introduction to Working Papers on The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization for Social Development This paper is part of a series of outputs from the research project on The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization for Social Development. The project seeks to contribute to global debates on the political and institutional contexts that enable poor countries to mobilize domestic resources for social development. It examines the processes and mechanisms that connect the politics of resource mobilization and demands for social provision; changes in state-citizen and donor-recipient relations associated with resource mobilization and allocation; and governance reforms that can lead to improved and sustainable revenue yields and services.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 a Paper on Higher Education in Uganda by Maurice A. Muhwezi
    A PAPER ON HIGHER EDUCATION IN UGANDA BY MAURICE A. MUHWEZI-MURARI 1 1.0 Higher education in Uganda The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) defines Higher education as the education offered to post advanced level certificate or its equivalent. This is the context within which this paper is prepared though it is generally premised on University education. The prominence of the state in the Education Sector generally and the Higher Education Sub sector has subsisted since the colonial period when Makerere started as a technical school in 1922. The state has since continued to support, fund and control the sub sector in a number of ways including enacting laws and policies to govern the sector. In 1937, the de La Warr Commission recommended that Makerere College be turned into a University College and that secondary schools should be placed at an education level or standard required to produce candidates for entering Makerere College as an institution of higher education offering post-school certificate courses. In 1940, the Thomas Education Committee also recommended the involvement of the government in financing the schools. These recommendations were given the force of law by the Education Ordinance in 1942 (Magara, 2009). In 1949, Makerere College by an Act of Parliament was uplifted to a constituent college of the University of London. The findings of the Binns Study Group in 1951 and the de Bunsen Education Committee in 1952, enhanced the co-ordination and supervision of the education system in the country and also contributed to the Education Ordinance of 1959 that provided for universal education.
    [Show full text]
  • Provision of Inclusive Education in Uganda: What Are the Challenges?
    BMAU BRIEFING PAPER (13/18) MAY 2018 Provision of Inclusive Education in Uganda: What are the challenges? Overview The Education and Sports Sector has the country’s mandate to offer education as a basic human right. The core goal is to equip learners/students/trainees with relevant knowledge and skills necessary for socio-economic transformation and development. This is in line with the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which emphasizes inclusive and quality education for all as well as the promotion of lifelong learning. The sector embraced inclusive education and evidently committed itself to bringing about inclusion of learners at every level of education regardless of their strengths or weaknesses. This was to be achieved through a number of interventions which include among others; the introduction of Universal Primary Education and Universal Secondary Education. This resulted into enrolment of large number of learners including those with special needs. The increase in enrolment required more resources, however with the stagnant grants/budgetary allocations, there has been a reduction in the unit cost of the grants to individu al learners. In 2014, Uganda reiterated in the Muscat Agreement to commit 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the education sector, however on average only 2.4% of the GDP has been spent on the sector in the last five financial years (World Bank, 2015). The NDP II projected that Uganda would commit 4.4% of its GDP to the sector in FY 2017/18 but the Minist erial Policy Statement (MPS) FY2017/18 indicates a commitment of only 2.5% in this period.
    [Show full text]
  • World Bank Document
    WDP-89 Public Disclosure Authorized World Bank Discussion Papers AfricaTechnical Department Series Implementing Public Disclosure Authorized Educational Policies in Utganda Public Disclosure Authorized Cooper F. Odaet Public Disclosure Authorized V. & r ''k Recent World Bank Discussion Papers No. 32 Tenancy in South Asia. Inderjit Singh No. 33 Land and Labor in South Asia. lnderjit Singh No. 35 Global Trends in Real ExchiangeRates. Adrian Wood No. 36 Income Distribution and Economic Development in Malawi: Some Historical Perspectives.Frederic L. Pryor No. 37 Income Distribution and Economic Development in Madagascar:Some Historical Perspectives.Frederic L. Pryor No. 38 Quality Controls of Traded Commodities and Services in DevelopinigCountries. Simon Rottenberg and Bruce Yandle No. 39 Livestock Productionin North Africa and the 1MiddleEast: Problemsand Perspectives.John C. Glenn [Also available in French (39F)j No. 40 Nongovernmental Organizations and Local Development. Michael M. Cemea [Also available in Spanish (40S)] No. 41 Patterns of Development: 1950 to 1983. Moises Syrquin and Hollis Chenery No. 42 Voluntary Debt-Reduction Operations: Bolivia, iMexico, and Beyond... Ruben Lamdany No. 43 Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa: Analysis and Explanation. Susan Cochranc and S.M. Farid No. 44 Adjustment Programsand Social We!fare. Elaine Zuckerman No. 45 Primary School Teachers' Salaries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Manuel Zymelman andJoseph DeStefano No. 46 Education and Its Relation to Economic Growth, Poverty, and Income Distribution: Past Evidence and Further Analysis. Jandhyala B.G. Tilak No. 47 InternationalMacroeconomic Adjustment, 1987-1992. Robert E. King and Helena Tang No. 48 Contract Plans and Public Enterprise Performance.John Nellis [Also available in French (48F)] No. 49 Improving Nutrition in India: Policiesand Programsand Their 1imlpact.
    [Show full text]
  • A Foreign Policy Determined by Sitting Presidents: a Case
    T.C. ANKARA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS A FOREIGN POLICY DETERMINED BY SITTING PRESIDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF UGANDA FROM INDEPENDENCE TO DATE PhD Thesis MIRIAM KYOMUHANGI ANKARA, 2019 T.C. ANKARA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS A FOREIGN POLICY DETERMINED BY SITTING PRESIDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF UGANDA FROM INDEPENDENCE TO DATE PhD Thesis MIRIAM KYOMUHANGI SUPERVISOR Prof. Dr. Çınar ÖZEN ANKARA, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ i ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... iv FIGURES ................................................................................................................... vi PHOTOS ................................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE UGANDA’S JOURNEY TO AUTONOMY AND CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM I. A COLONIAL BACKGROUND OF UGANDA ............................................... 23 A. Colonial-Background of Uganda ...................................................................... 23 B. British Colonial Interests .................................................................................. 32 a. British Economic Interests .........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Uganda Infant Schools Project
    NURSERY SCHOOLS FOR VICTIMS IN UGANDA Introduction Pre-school education and care is very crucial in the educational and adult lives of children. Despite such crucial importance, the Uganda government makes no investment in it; and has left it to local communities. Urban and richer community members are more able to access this service for their children. However, most Ugandans are rural poor peasants or poor slum dwellers who do not easily access or afford it. Peasantry livelihoods limit most parents’ financial ability to pay school and care fees. Further, most Kindergartens are located far and are inaccessible. This project seeks to enable all to access and afford this vital service for their children. It seeks support external support to meet its pressing needs and become self-sustaining. The context The area of education needing most attention but getting least in Uganda is pre-school education and child care. Pre-school education and childcare strongly affect children’s academic and adult lives. Children who access high quality pre-school education and care are not only likely to successfully complete school, but also less likely to develop social problems such as criminality. Those who receive no pre-primary education and care find it difficult to settle into primary and secondary school to learn. They may be disruptive to other children’s learning processes or may be withdrawn. They go to next classes with big learning gaps, and cannot get the most out of education opportunities. Although there is free universal primary and secondary education in Uganda, pre-primary education and care is funded privately by individual parents.
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Education Curriculum Effectiveness in East Africa: a Descriptive Analysis of Primary Mathematics in Uganda Using the ‘Surveys of Enacted Curriculum’
    Basic Education curriculum effectiveness in East Africa: A descriptive analysis of primary mathematics in Uganda using the ‘Surveys of Enacted Curriculum’ Julius Atuhurra+ and Violet Alinda+ June, 2018 Abstract For most school-going children in many developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa today for whom schooling is not translating into actual learning, the question regarding the true value of education remains unanswered. Can the use of descriptive curriculum analytics impact teachers’ in-class instructional decisions as to lead to improved opportunities for children’s learning? Recent evidence from citizen-led annual learning assessments conducted in the three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda reveal extremely low learning gains as children progress through school, starting in the very early grades where they are expected to acquire foundational competences. Whereas several factors have been studied, there is shockingly very little evidence on basic education curricula effectiveness in East Africa. Twaweza East Africa has adapted the ‘Surveys of Enacted Curriculum’ SEC framework to analyze basic education curricula effectiveness in the region. In this study, we developed a subject taxonomy for primary-level Mathematics in Uganda – one of four core learning areas – and analyzed the distribution of relative emphases in the standards, classroom instruction, and assessments. We conclude that the lack of nationally- agreed well-thought subject-specific comprehensive taxonomies likely translates into content coverage inconsistencies that might deter achievement of planned progressive learning across grades. We find no clear evidence of a systematic emphasis structure on developing learner performance expectations as they progress across grades. Our analyses also reveal low alignment indices between standards and national assessments, and between standards and classroom instruction.
    [Show full text]
  • Education in Uganda
    0E-14103 Bulletin 1964, No. 32 Education in Uganda by DAVID SCANLON Professor of International Education Teachers College, Columbia University In U.S.DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Office of Education Foreword ASTRIKINGrTHENOMENON of the last few years has been the mounting interest among citizens of the United States in the developing areas of the worldparticularly per- haps the area of middle Africa.Since 1960 most of the coun- tries in this area have gained their independence and are confronting the great problems of nation building and economic development. The entireregionshowsbotha popular enthusiasm for education and a conviction among leaders that education is a key to economic and social developmentan enthusiasm and conviction almost unsurpassed anywhere else in the world. It is not, surprising, then, that during recent years an increas- ing number of Africans have come to study in the United States and hundreds of Americans have traveled in the opposite direc- tion to teach in African schools or otherwise help develop Afri- can educational systems.Administrators of American insti- tutions having African students, teachers of comparative education and social studies, persons engaged in programs for educational assistance in Africa, and others, have reflected a demand for basic information on the educational systems of that continent.This bulletin on education in Uganda is one response to the need. The author, Professor of International Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, spent several months in Uganda during academic year 1960-61 lecturing at the Institute of Edu- cation, Makerere College.During this period he consulted with educators, visited educational institutions, and gathered materials for the present study.
    [Show full text]
  • “Have Policy Makers Erred?” Implications of Mother Tongue Education for Pre-Primary Schooling in Uganda
    Per Linguam 2014 30(3):53-68 http://dx.doi.org/10.5785/30-3-547 “HAVE POLICY MAKERS ERRED?” IMPLICATIONS OF MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION FOR PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLING IN UGANDA Medadi E Ssentanda Stellenbosch University The Uganda language-in-education policy is silent about pre-primary schooling. This level of education is largely in the hands of private individuals who, because of wide-spread misconceptions about learning and acquiring English in Uganda (as in many other African countries), instruct pre-primary school learners in English. This article demonstrates how this omission in language-in-education policy is creating competition between rural government and private schools regarding the teaching of English and the development of initial literacy. The absence of an official language policy for pre-primary schooling has also dichotomised the implementation of mother tongue education in rural areas. The policy allows rural primary schools to use mother tongue as language of learning and teaching in the first three school grades. However, whereas private schools instruct through English only, government schools to a large extent adhere to the policy, albeit with undesirable consequences. The practical implications of lack of a language-in-education policy for and minimal government involvement in pre-primary schooling are discussed in this article. Keywords Language policy; mother tongue education; initial literacy; early childhood development; education in Uganda INTRODUCTION ‘We have pushed the policy too far, expecting even infants to learn through English.’ (Kyeyune, 2003: 174). In this quotation, Kyeyune reflects on how Ugandan policy makers have made it possible to use English at the preschool as the exclusive language of learning and teaching (LoLT).
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of COVID-19 on Uganda's Education System
    MAY 2020 COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response: Rethinking e-Learning in Uganda Josephine Tumwesige i COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response: Rethinking e-Learning in Uganda Abstract Public health emergencies affect the education and safety of children in several ways. Due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, for instance, the education of 5 million children was interrupted.- School closures across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2015 made it difficult for the governments of these countries to find alternative ways to provide continued education, resulting in many children dropping out of school. The current pandemic has forced most govern- ments around the world to temporarily close educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, impacting over 91% of the world’s student popu- lation according to UNESCO. Uganda, amidst its economic challenges, the unforeseen situation of the COVID-19 pandemic is another turn of the screw in the education situation of its school-going age population. This research looks systematically at the opportunities and challenges of diffus- ing e-learning in the context of Uganda, where the vast majority lack basic needs for livelihood and access to the internet is a problem. MAY 2020 ii COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response: Rethinking e-Learning in Uganda Table of Contents COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response: Rethinking e-Learning in Uganda Introduction 1 Methodology 2 Overview of the Uganda Education System 2 Early
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Book 2014 -2015
    Fact Book 2014 -2015 Fact Book 2014 -2015 1 Planning and Development Department P.O Box 7062, Kampala http://pdd.mak.ac.ug/ TABLE OF CONTENTS Table Of Contents .................................................................................................................................... i List Of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... ii List Of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... iii Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................. iv Preamble ................................................................................................................................................... v GENERAL INFORMATION ................................................................................................................... 1 Colleges .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Non-Teaching Units ................................................................................................................................ 2 University Governance ........................................................................................................................... 3 Academic Programmes ...........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Uganda Bureau of Statistics
    UGANDA BUREAU OF STATISTICS THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA Uganda Bureau of Statistics Statistics House Plot 9, Colville Street P.O. Box 7186, Kampala Tel: +256-414-706000 Fax: +256-414-237553 Email: [email protected] June 2011 Website: www.ubos.org UGANDA BUREAU OF STATISTICS 2011 STATISTICAL ABSTRACT FOREWORD The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is mandated to provide relevant, reliable and timely official statistics needed to support evidence-based policy formulation and to monitor socio-economic development outcomes. The Statistical Abstract, published annually, is the prime channel through which the Bureau presents combined information derived from the latest surveys, censuses and administrative records from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and from many other sources. The information is compiled using international best practices in statistical production. Information contained in the 2011 abstract covers statistics on socio-economic sectors, including, but not limited to, Environment, Population, Education, Health, Agriculture, Labour, Expenditure and Poverty, Energy, Business, National Accounts, Banking and Currency, Prices, Trade, Migration and Tourism, Transport and Communication and Government Finance. This abstract has for the second time included sections on Food Security and the Producer Price Index for Hotels and Restaurants (PPI-H&R). Presentations in this publication are in the form of tables, graphs and charts accompanied with explanatory text. UBOS appreciates the continued cooperation of MDAs in availing the requisite data in time to produce this publication. Special thanks go to UBOS technical staff who compiled the 2011 Abstract. Copies of the publication are available at Statistics House, Plot 9, Colville Street, Kampala. Further information can be obtained from the official UBOS website: www.ubos.org.
    [Show full text]